FROM the woman whose âmaturity leaveâ was the reason for quitting her last job, to the man who included a letter from his mum, the road to CV hell is paved with good intentions, so dos and donâts are vital. And with most recruiters only giving each one a measly 20 seconds, your CV also needs to pack one hell of a punch. So here are our top 10 ways of getting your two pages to the top of the pile.
Remember: Revere relevance.
ÂLanguages: Russian, French, Operatic ItalianÂ
âA CV serves one purpose and one purpose only, and thatâs to secure an interview,â says John Doherty of technical and engineering recruiters CBSbutler. So tailor the content accordingly and cut out irrelevant waffle. Employers state the skills they are looking for, so check that they match the information in your CV, advises Stephen Kennedy, a recruitment partner for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. âPut your money where your mouth is and prove you actually have that expertise.â
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Remember: Spellchecker is your friend.
ÂMy attention to detale made me instrumental in ruining the whole operationÂ
It may seem like a no-brainer, but using a spellchecker is overlooked by scores of foolhardy applicants. According to Doherty, this is still one of the most common mistakes, and could send your CV straight to the shredder. Proofread your CV, then get someone else to check it, advises Kennedy. You rarely get a second chance.
Remember: Keep it clean.
Â!!Excellent IT skills including formatting and layout!!Â
According to a study by online CV service iProfile, most applicants believe the way their CV looks is key to impressing recruiters, whereas employers themselves couldnât care less. So forget coloured paper, weird titles and elaborate fonts; the best way to make your CV stand out is clarity. âKeep it plain and simple, and think about the layout,â says Ros Kindersley, head of JFL Search & Selection. And of course, a CV sent electronically will be printed, so if it requires yellow ink and black paper to be legible, itâs no good to anyone. âThe most attractive thing on your CV is the name of your current employer and your current position,â adds Kindersley. Not a border of pretty pink stars.
Remember: Sell yourself (just try not to get carried away).
ÂSkills: Makes a great cup of teaÂ
Bigging yourself up can be embarrassing, but thatâs what your CV is there for. âScientists tend to be modest,â says Lorna Crombie, director of scientific recruitment firm CK Science, âtheyâre not the kind of people who blow their own trumpet.â It might feel alien, but you need to learn to show off tastefully, she says. âItâs not enough that youâve done something really well. You have to be able to explain that to people in a way that casts you in the most positive light.â
Remember: Keep your interests interesting.
ÂInterests: Sex, 19th-century French furniture, film â I have 3 DVD players and a 42-inch plasma TVÂ
Believe it or not, these are all real examples. But even mainstream hobbies can say more about you than you might think. According to research by Yell.com, 59 per cent of the nationâs employers believe your interests tell them how well youâll fit in. Despite this, a third of us donât list any at all. As a scientist you can use your hobbies to counter common stereotypes. Donât just pick solitary pursuits such as reading or listening to music, but highlight some team activities too. Skills like DIY will also demonstrate a practical side, proving youâre not just a big brain. But be warned: ââSocialisingâ is overrated as a hobby â what you really mean is going to the pub and getting drunk with your mates,â Crombie says, âand we see that a bit too often.â
Remember: Donât try to be funny; there are no good jokes on a CV.
ÂI work well with people in all positions⊠and not just in the bedroomÂ
âItâs really important to try to get your personality across in some way,â says Crombie, but jokes simply arenât the way to do it. âSense of humour is such a personal thing and itâs a minefield when it comes to offending people,â she warns. A much better way to inject your personality is with passion. âIf thereâs one thing all candidates underestimate itâs the power of enthusiasm,â she says. âThatâs whatâs going to get you an invite for interview.â
Remember: A photo is a faux pas.
ÂLike the lion in this picture, I am confident, strong and well-groomedÂ
âWhat a good CV needs is a succinct profile of no more than half a dozen sentences summarising what you are all about,â says Doherty. It should include key skills and activities from previous employment, and perhaps longer-term career aspirations. But unless specifically requested, donât include a photo, of you or any other wildlife.
A personal profile should also be just that â personal. Avoid saying you are a team player with excellent communication skills, warns Crombie: âPicking these clichĂ©s will make you look like just another graduate.â
Remember: Honesty isnât always the best policy.
ÂCareer Objectives: to make lots of money and retire earlyÂ
Career objectives say a lot about your attitude, so think about the kind of person the company wants to employ. If you are applying to a charity, a mercenary outlook wonât go down well. Money is important, but there are better ways to get it than asking outright. According to iProfile, one way is to make sure your CV accurately reflects your current skills.
CEO Rick Bacon says applicants often suffer from what he calls âCV amnesiaâ. By forgetting to list skills they actually have, he says, âpeople miss out on career opportunities worth thousands of pounds more than what they ended up withâ. For more information on how much youâre worth, take a look at the graphic below.
Remember: Your CV is not your thesis.
ÂAs you can see from my past experience, detailed on page 23âŠÂ
âTwenty seconds is the average amount of time people look at a CV before deciding whether to read on,â says Kindersley, so be succinct. As a general rule, stick to two pages. In fact, less can be more when it comes to career history â if you graduated last year and have already done more jobs than the local cab driver, alarm bells will ring with potential employers. But if itâs important, donât leave it out. âPeople leave out really critical skills and experience for the sake of getting onto two pages,â says Crombie, âand thatâs the wrong approach to take.â
Remember: The little details say a lot.
ÂE-mail: bigboy69@hotmail.comÂ
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YOUR COVER LETTER
âYour cover letter should be really short and to the point,â says Kindersley. Only if skills are crucial â such as languages for a position abroad â should you include them. âAll the other selling points should be in the CV,â she says. Your letter is also the ideal place to state salary expectations, as a CV may get passed around a team of people who arenât interested in that information.
YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION
Despite scare stories about recruiters scouring Facebook for damning evidence, the internet is an amazing tool to help you get a job, says Yann Motte, CEO of networking site Webjam. Use it to create an online CV which links to groups and activities you are involved in, news stories about your career achievements, or past employersâ websites. Plus itâs easy to keep updated, and with services like iProfile alert â which tells you when someone has read your CV- itâs easy to monitor employer interest, too.
YOUR REFERENCES
You donât need to include referees in your CV, says Crombie, but if you know some key industry people whose names might be recognised, âthat would be a selling pointâ. Ask referees for permission before including them on a CV, and of course, make sure that theyâre going to say nice things about you.
